Stella Mwangi
Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born 1 September 1986),[1] also known by the stage name STL, is a Kenyan-Norwegian singer,[2] songwriter and rapper. Mwangi writes much of her music about the situation in her home country Kenya, and about discrimination both Stella and her family had to go through after moving to Norway in 1991.[3] Her work has been used in films such as American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, and also in TV-series such as CSI: NY and Scrubs.[4] She has won several awards including; the Kisima Awards, Clops Awards and Jeermaan Awards, she is one of the most popular singers in Norway after winning the Melodi Grand Prix 2011.
Stella Mwangi | |
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.JPG) Stella Mwangi at a video shoot in Nairobi, June 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Stella Nyambura Mwangi |
| Also known as | Stella, STL |
| Born | 1 September 1986 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Origin | Eidsvoll, Norway |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Labels | |
| Website | stellamwangi |
Mwangi represented Norway at The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany, one year after her country hosted the event, and was eliminated in the first semi-final.
Mwangi has had hit songs in Kenya, Senegal, and Gambia.[3] Mwangi's 2018 single "No Games" featured on a TV advertisement by Samsung for their Galaxy S9 smartphone.[5]
Early and personal life
Stella was born in Murang'a in Central Province of Kenya in 1986 and spent her first 5 years there before her family moved to Eidsvoll in Norway in 1991.[6] She started to practice playing music when she was eight years old. She also plays the piano. Her father made sure she and her siblings learned Gikuyu language and Swahili even far away from home. He used cultural music and poetry to teach them the languages and this inspired Stella's music and her connection to the Kenyan culture.[7]
Mwangi's father was killed in a hit-and-run accident in February 2012.[8]
Eurovision Song Contest 2011
In 2011, Mwangi participated in the Norwegian national selection Melodi Grand Prix 2011 to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. On 12 February 2011, Mwangi emerged as the winner.
On 10 May, she represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Haba Haba"[9] but failed to qualify for the Eurovision final, despite being one of the big favourites of the contest.[10]
Mwangi first topped the official singles chart in Norway in week 6, 2011 with her winning song "Haba Haba".[11]
Melodi Grand Prix 2018
Stella competed in the Melodi Grand Prix for the chance to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 along with Alexandra Rotan with the song You Got Me. They placed third overall.
Discography
Albums
| Album Title | Album details | Chart positions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [12] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Living for Music |
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— | |||||||||||||||||||
| Kinanda |
|
15 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [12] |
AFR [13] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | "Take It Back" | — | — | Living for Music | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | "The Dreamer" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Makelele Remix" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | "Smile" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2011 | "Haba Haba" | 1 | — | Kinanda | |||||||||||||||||
| "Lookie Lookie" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Take My Time" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Hula Hoop" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | "Bad As I Wanna Be" | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | "Shut it Down" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2014 | "Stella Stella Stella" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Koolio" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Biashara" (featuring Kristoff and Khaligraph Jones) |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | "Chukua Hatua" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Obe Baba" (featuring Raj Okemwa) |
— | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | "Identify Yourself" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Big Girl" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | "Work" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Not Your Ordinary" | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | "No Games" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | "Ma Itu" | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
References
- STL MUSIC Stella Nyambura Mwangi. Brønnøysund Register Centre
- "Den beste rapperen jeg har hørt – NRK – Østlandssendingen". Nrk.no. 21 February 2008. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- "Home of the African Music Fan". Museke. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- https://web.archive.org/web/20110417063344/http://www.sweetslyrics.com/bio-Stella%20Mwangi.html. Archived from the original on 17 April 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2011. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - "Samsung Galaxy S9 TV Commercial - Remix Your Everyday". 15 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- Stella Mwangi: – Nå føler jeg meg fri
- Archived 4 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- "Stella Mwangi's dad killed in accident (Norwegian". Retrieved 11 February 2012.
- Storvik-Green, Simon. "Stella Mwangi victorious in Norway". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
- "Hva skjer med Stella nå? – Kjendis". Kjendis.no. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- "VG-lista – Topp 20 Single uke 6, 2011". Lista.vg.no. 1 January 1970. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
- "Discography Stella Mwangi". Norwegian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- Archived 26 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stella Mwangi. |
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by Didrik Solli-Tangen |
Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 |
Succeeded by Tooji |
Authority control  |
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